All for One
by Baby Evil
Summary: Xander leaves Sunydale to try and rid himself of his
1. Earthquake

Chapter 1: Earthquake  
  
Alexander Harris was still asleep at seven thirty. His alarm clock blaring in his ear, he still snored. Finally, as if a message from the Powers That Be, the ground began to shake and a wooden stake (along with the rest of his "precious" belongings that were thrown onto the top shelf above his bed) fell on top of his sleeping body. He sat up quickly; his eyes snapped open as he began to scream,  
  
"Earthquake, earthquake!!!! Somebody, save me! Buffy!!!!" But then another voice interrupted him, "Shut up you lazy mook, you're gonna be late for school." His uncle Rory said as he stopped hitting the wall.  
  
The smell of peppermint, from Rory's early morning drink-lingered as Xander got dressed. He grumbled the entire walk to Sunnydale High about some up- coming test that he hadn't bothered to study for.  
  
Xander reached the stone steps of the High School and saw his best friends Willow Rosenburg and Buffy Summers waiting for him.  
  
"Hey Xander, where have you been all morning? I thought you were going to be late, or something. But, no, that would be bad. And you are, like, anti- bad guy." Willow said hurriedly  
  
"Will, slow down. Unless he is a different person than he was on Friday, I am pretty sure he just got up. I mean, come on, it's Xander, our Xander."  
  
Willow nodded in compliance and pantomimed zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the key. Although Xander wondered if she realized that zippers didn't have keys.  
  
"Guys, it's our senior year! I wanna do something, go somewhere, and be somebody!" Xander yelled finally showing some sort of brain activity.  
  
Buffy gave him a look, "Xander, you are someone, duh, Xander Harris my best friend. You do, do stuff I mean hello! Saving the world on a daily basis is pretty damn important. And as for going somewhere, you can go where you want, but me? I have to stay here in 'Sunnyhell' California.'" She said with a forced southern accent  
  
"You know Buffy? You're right!" Xander admitted  
  
"I am? Well, that's a first. Out of demon context that is."  
  
"Yeah! I am going to go somewhere. See yeah!" he shouted as he jogged down the stairs and was about to cross the street until he met up with, none other than, Cordelia Chase. Then it hit him, "Hey Cordy, you're looking very whore-ish today. What, did the dog eat other half of your skirt?"  
  
Cordelia looked down at her outfit, which had taken her two hours to pick out. It was stunning, red satin with gold embroidered dragons on it. It was rather short though. "Ha ha. Very funny, Xander. Now that we're on the subject of clothing choice lets have a look at you. Hmmm." She said giving him a once over "Pants, $12.50, Shirt-oh god-please tell me you didn't pay more that two dollars for that piece of trash. And shoes, probably the most expensive item on you. They're Nike and kind of new so I'd say.$60.00, at most. So all in all, your entire outfit cost let than $80. If I had to summarize it I'd say.cheap and crap. But look at it this way, if there was a Loser of the Month Award, you'd win it." She said with false sincerity.  
  
"Awwww, it cuts me deep, Cordy, that you have stooped so low as to diss my outfit." He replied with sarcasm  
  
"The shear fact that you just said the word 'diss' scares the hell out of me. But I am working to be a better person so-"  
  
"A what? Sorry, I just had a case of hysterical deafness!"  
  
".To be a better person," Cordy continued, "so I will just be nice. Xander, what do you want?" she asked gritting her teeth as if being nice hurt her  
  
"I want your keys." He said shortly Cordelia's eyes widened, "MY WHAT?!"  
  
"Your keys, you know the ones you use to start your car?"  
  
"I know that, you dummy, but why do you need my keys? Go steal a bike, or something." Cordy pointed to the bike rack  
  
"No, I need something to take me farther. I need to get out of here. Please help me out. I'll tell you why later. Just let me borrow your keys!"  
  
"I don't know why I am so nice to you. I must be such a good person for doing this." She said rummaging through her matching red purse. She pulled out a set of keys on a gold colored ring with a dangling mini-license plate that read: "Queen C", identical to the one on her actual car. She grabbed the key with a red dot on it in Sharpie Marker® and removed it from the golden loop. "Here."  
  
"Thanks." He said as he jumped into the car without bothering to open the door and jump-started the engine. He backed the car out of its parking place and drove down the street until he passed the reflective green sign that read: "Now Leaving Sunnydale!" He was out. The farthest he'd been from the Hellmouth in two years. This feeling was amazing, and he'd be feeling it for the next few months while he was on the road. 


	2. The Long Ride Home

Chapter 2: The Long Ride Home  
  
Xander turned on the radio and turned to his favorite station, as they just happened to be playing his favorite song, "Alive" by P.O.D. He though it suited his plan. He was going to leave his old live behind, for now, and be a new man. He would comeback, of course, he'd call but other than that he was going to go solo. Be a demon hunter. Without having to rely on Buffy and be her little lap dog. He grimaced at the though of it. He shook his head and perished the though. He decided to get his mind off the long ride ahead of him and.sing. Even if he sounded like an out of tune guitar with three volumes: Loud and bad, louder and worse and deafening and horrible. But he was alone on this dusty in-the-middle-of-nowhere place so what was the harm of indulging a little?  
  
"I feel so alive! For the very first time!!! You can't deny it." He sang but it even hurt his ears so he decided to stop for now. He had been driving for a while now and finally saw some paved road and buildings ahead of him. He knew exactly where he was headed, Los Angeles, the city of dreams. According to people he knew there were plenty of demons for him to practice on. A lot were street rats and weak, although they still killed humans for fun. He didn't want to go around killing innocent demons, even if those two words didn't go together or shouldn't, atleast. He finally drove into LA and smiled. He had finally gotten where he wanted to. This was the beginning of the new Xander Harris.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The bell rang and signaled the end of fifth period. Buffy and Willow got up from their neighboring seats. They were still a little bit confused about the early events of the morning. Cordelia sat two seats up from Buffy and Willow she got up but immediately her cell phone rang. She looked around and cautiously picked it from her purse and answered it,  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Cordy! Thanks for the wheels, I will get it back to you in one piece, I promise." Xander said happily "Xander? Xander Harris!" she said getting very angry "Where the hell are you and what have you done with my daddy's car? If you mess it up I swear I'll."  
  
"Hey! Don't get your Prada panties in a twist. The car is fine; I am fine it's all.fine. Alright?"  
  
Cordy scoffed "I don't care about you! I care about my money!" she screamed walking down the hall, into the SHS library where a Scooby meeting was already in motion. Cordelia walked in with the phone still glued to her ear and screamed into it, "YOU'RE WHERE?!!!!!!"  
  
"LA, Cordy, you know the place with all the shoes and stores that you like so much?" Xander asked sardonically  
  
Buffy turned to Cordelia, now red in the face as she snapped her phone shut without saying goodbye to whomever it was she was arguing with.  
  
"Another rough break-up, Cordy or did someone just forget to take your clothes to the dry-cleaners?" Buffy asked  
  
"No!" Cordelia replied harshly "That stupid Xander. He took my car, he took my keys, and now.he is in LA.with all the shoes! The shoes I should be buying! I need be there." She replied meekly  
  
Then, Willow stepped up to the plate, "Well, look at it this way, maybe he'll bring you a half of a shoe. God knows he can't afford a whole one."  
  
Giles walked out from his office, "Excuse me Cordelia, I hate to intrude on this.whatever it is you are doing but.did you say that Xander, our Xander, is in Los Angeles?"  
  
"Uh, duh. Where have you been this whole time, under a rock? Yes Xander took my car and left. He just called me from some pay phone. I mean, if he was so anxious to take my car, why not just take my phone, too?" she speculated  
  
"Yeah," Buffy said as if a light clicked on, "You're right. Did he give you a contact number? Or anything? My spidey sense is really having a field day on this one." She said worriedly.  
  
"I know what you mean!" Cordy exclaimed, "I mean, did you see his ensemble? Just deal with it for a second."  
  
"Even though Cordelia is a bit shallow." Willow began  
  
"HEY! Standing right here!" Cordy interrupted  
  
Willow kept talking, "when it comes to this kind of stuff I have to say that she does have a point. Did you notice that Xander looked really sad and distraught today? And after the whole, Hellmouth opening thing only a few weeks ago and the fact that we didn't let him help might have something to do with it. What if you were him? How would you feel of you were always 'doughnut man?' He doesn't have super powers or even powers from witchcraft! He must feel pretty useless, right about now." She finished sadly  
  
"Oh." Cordelia said, stunned, "This is all my fault! I told him he was the Zeppo! Now he is going to crash my car, to get back at me. OH MY GOD! Buffy, you're the Slayer.do something!" she screamed  
  
Giles took off his glasses and wiped them clean with a white handkerchief he pulled from his pocket. "While I understand your anxiety, all of you, even if Cordelia's is a bit self involved." Cordy rolled her eyes "The important thing is that Xander doesn't prance off and do something foolish to get himself killed. Los Angeles is infamous in the demon world for being over inhabited by creatures anything but human. IF Xander left of his own will that means he doesn't want our help. If anything he wants to prove to us that he is highly capable of fighting for himself. I think we should leave him be."  
  
"How do you know that?" Buffy asked  
  
"Well, as hard as it is for you lot to understand this, I too was a young man. And know how one's brain works. I myself did something quite like this when I was a round his age." He said proudly  
  
"Giles was a kid? When, the 1400's?!" Cordy asked herself, a teensy bit too loud.  
  
"Yes, Cordelia, I was a child, and no, not in the 1400's. I am not that old you know." He said again in the same tone as before  
  
"Sure.whatever." She said sarcastically  
  
"Alright! Lets stop fighting and help Xander. We need to mount up. And." she glanced at Giles who was giving her the 'where-you-not-listening- to-me look "Let him solve his own problems. Yup, just sit on our asses and do nothing at all." She caught herself  
  
"God, Xander.where are you?" Willow whispered, hoping for some ominous answer  
  
~*~*~  
  
Xander was cornered. Two huge, green, slimy demons had him backed up against an ally wall. They growled and hiss and spat some venom that ate away at the cold cement. So he figured he should stay away from it.  
  
"God, Buffy. Help me please! Willow, help." He said silently to himself.  
  
"Suddenly, the demon on the right lunged at him. Baring it's needle- like teeth. Xander held up his arms in defense. Not much help.  
  
"Awwww. Man!" he said as the demon was on top of him. What was he supposed to do?  
  
TBC. 


	3. A Guardian Angel

Chapter 3: A Guardian Angel  
  
"Oh god, Oh god. Help!!!!" Xander shouted from beneath the huge demon.  
  
A drop of the venomous liquid they spat also coated their slimy green skin and a drop began to lower itself so that it was just a few inches from his face. It was so hot. It was excruciating just to be near these monsters. He closed his eyes, about to accept his fate as a snake-demon monster sandwich. Suddenly, Xander had a thought.  
  
'I've watched Buffy a billion times and I can't fight a demon? What is wrong with me?' he asked himself  
  
He scrunched his legs up to his chest and positioned them under the demon's stomach. He took a deep breath and hit the demon hard, sending him flying through the air. He stood up and brushed himself off. The other demon had its eyes wide and his jaw dropped in shock. He turned and ran the other direction.  
  
Xander looked at the demon he'd sent flying. It was lying motionless. He had broken its neck! For once he'd done something for himself. He felt empowered and slowly bent down and picked up his jacket that he had dropped in his blind panic. He turned and got back in Cordelia's car.  
  
"Wow, I'm like, Super Xander! ALL HAIL ME!" he yelled  
  
He started the car and drove down the ally, speeding past the dead demon. He smiled and honked the horn a few times before setting his gaze on a motel. He pulled into the lot and turned the engine off.  
  
Inside the building sat a small man at a rather large desk. The man was typing something on his laptop while chatting with somebody on the phone.  
  
"Yeah, the address is: www.trekkies_unite.com, okay? Good." He said happily  
  
Xander walked up to the desk and rang the little bell on the counter, getting the man's attention. He flicked his gaze back and forth from Xander to the computer screen a few times before Xander was forced to ring the small bell yet again. The man grew red in the face and snatched the bell of the desktop and placed it in a drawer.  
  
"Hey, Tony I have to go. There is a man here who is being extremely rude!" he finished loudly so that Xander heard him. The small man hung up the phone and glanced, angrily, at Xander who smiled in return  
  
"Hello! Can I have a room?" he asked cheerfully  
  
"No, you may NOT have a room, you schmuck! Who do you think you are, marching in here while I am on the phone and demanding a room, how dare you!"  
  
Xander looked at the man's nametag, which read Ted, and again began to speak: "Alright.Ted, well, see I need a room and I am willing to pay. So I can't see a downside to this plan."  
  
"Hmmm, that's funny. 'Cause I do. See, I am the owner of this motel and I don't have to give you a room unless I see it fit. So, buh bye!" he said condescendingly  
  
"I have money though! See?" he asked pulling a small wad of cash from his pocket  
  
"Wow." Ted said sarcastically "That's a lot of money. Did your parents give it to you?"  
  
Xander smiled a little "Well, a lot of it is christm-" then he realized what he was saying and cleared his throat "I mean, no! I made this money on my own.yeah. All by my lonesome self."  
  
"Alrighty then." he said with a broad smile, which showed sharp sabers. Suddenly, his eyes began to glow red and his fingernails grew longer and glistened like ten sharp blades. "Now, leave!!!" he shouted  
  
"No!" Xander stated firmly, taking a more assertive stance "I want a room."  
  
The creature growled and smiled, "And I said to get lost!" it lunged at the curly haired boy  
  
But a hand, not Xander's, whipped through the air and grabbed the monster by the scruff of it's neck. Xander put up his fists and closed his eyes, hoping that if a punch was thrown it would not be him who was hit.  
  
"Good dogs don't bite!" the mystery man said tauntingly, Xander immediately recognized the voice as that of Angel, Buffy's beau  
  
Xander opened his eyes and looked up at Angel(considering he was quite a bit taller then he was), who had the demon a good foot or two off the ground, Angel held him with one hand. The demon growled and snapped its teeth at Angel.  
  
"That'll teach you!" Xander said mockingly, pointing his finger in the demons face "Stupid Trekkie!" he spat  
  
"Oh god, a Trekkie?!" Angel asked looking at the demon with disgust "God, you are too pitiful."  
  
"Why is it that more Trekkies aren't demons, it'd make so much more sense!"  
  
"Most Trekkies ARE demons, either that or overweight middle-aged men with no life."  
  
"Well, duh! Just look at my dad and Uncle Ronny. Perfect examples there." Xander said casually  
  
Angel glanced at the squirming demon and dropped him. His head slammed against the cold linoleum floor. He placed his foot over the side of the monster's head and pushed down, causing him to grunt in pain. "Now," he said to the demon, "I am going to take my foot off your head and then, you are going to go and watch a nice episode of Star Trek. Maybe talk to some other weirdoes like you. God, I would stake myself if I was a psycho fan like that! What about those actors?! My god."  
  
"I know. I would hate to be them, plus it is so creepy. Why would anyone be obsessed like that? Don't they have lives?" Xander asked  
  
The demon let out a low frustrated growl that sent a wave of instant heat through the room.  
  
Xander wiped at his brow, "Damn, is it just me or does it suddenly feel like we're in a Easy-Bake Oven?"  
  
"Yeah. It's a Tethilion Demon, from the Rylon dimension. They knock out their opponents by dehydrating them with small heat waves. All that is left, usually, is a dried out corpse."  
  
Xander cringed, "Ewww! Like a big, icky raisin."  
  
"Uh.yeah. Either way, Xander I want you to get in my car and I'll take care of this guy." Angel turned to walk away with the squirming demon still clutched in his hand.  
  
"How 'bout no! I came here to get away from you guys. Buffy doesn't need me, or my help. She made that very clear last Wednesday!" he yelled angrily  
  
"Last Wednesday? What happened last Wedn-oh! The Hellmouth opened." Angel could almost read Xander like a book at that point. "And she didn't want you to help, did she?"  
  
Xander scoffed, "What do you think, Mister Big Shot?! No one ever needs 'little Xander's' help. No, no! All Xander is good for is getting doughnuts!"  
  
"She just doesn't want you to get hurt."  
  
"Yeah?" he asked angrily. "Then why did she let Willow help? Or Giles? Or you?! Does she want YOU to get hurt?"  
  
Angel paused a minute to try and contemplate a non-hurtful answer to his question.  
  
Xander rolled his eyes, "See? What did I tell you? She just doesn't care about me. Poor Xander, he can't do magick, and doesn't have super powers and isn't a bookworm so we'll just let him be our delivery boy. Am I getting close here, chief?"  
  
"Not even close!" Angel tightened his grip a little on the demon's neck and then threw him against the opposite wall; it crumpled into a heap on the floor. "I'll have you know, Buffy-this person who, apparently hates you- is the same person who snuck to my apartment in the middle of the night and told me to come here and find you, even though it was against Giles' orders. So, tough guy, still think she's the one that hates you?"  
  
"Okay, first of all, my god! What the hell did you just do to that thing, and second, she really said that? She really told you to come find me?"  
  
Angel sighed, "Yes, Xander, she did. She loves you as much as Willow does and both of them are worried about you."  
  
"Well.what about Cordelia?" Xander inquired  
  
"Oh, she just wants her car back."  
  
"Okay, than. I am pretty sure that is do-able. But I don't want to go back. I made a huge deal about leaving." He said with downcast eyes  
  
"Don't worry, you all the time in the world. Trust me, I know about time. I have had quite a lot of experience in time, you know." Angel said humorously  
  
"I'll bet. Hey you go back to Sunnydale. I need a little more time here. But will you give Buffy a message for me? I wrote her a letter, I know it's cheesy but I want her, Will and Cordy ONLY to see it, okay? I want you to put it in your pocket and not take it out until you see her. Am I making myself clear?"  
  
"Crystal." 


	4. A Scarlet Letter

A Scarlet Letter  
  
  
  
As Angel drove into the night he could only wonder what Xander was getting himself into. He was just a kid. He shook it from his mind as he concentrated on driving-and not crashing. Soon enough he was at the "WELCOME TO SUNNYDALE!" sign and hung a left in the general direction of the Sunnydale High School. Angel neared the looming building and put the vehicle in park.  
  
The letter tumbled in the deep pockets of his duster as he entered the brightly lit library where everyone sat, crowded around a table. Giles sat at the far end cleaning his glasses. Buffy was fiddling with her hands and picking at her pretty pink nail polish. Willow typed vigorously on her Apple laptop, searching the 'Net, no doubt. Cordelia just sat with her head slightly cocked to one side, lost in her own thought. No one even looked up when Angel entered. He glanced around, giving everyone a once-over, four limbs, a head, all was good! He cleared his throat and suddenly all eyes were on him.  
  
"I, uh, got something from Xander." He announced  
  
"Is it my car?!" Cordy yelled, jumping up  
  
"No. But it is for you, and Buffy, and Willow. Here." He said rummaging though his pocket for the paper, he pulled up the worn, soggy, torn paper. "He said that you three, and only you three, could see it, okay?"  
  
"Sure, whatever." Cordy said nonchalantly Buffy walked up to Angel and gently took the note from him, "Thank you Angel." She whispered fondly  
  
The three women trotted over to a neighboring table and unfolded the, just barely readable, scribble that was Xander's handwriting. Buffy sighed and begin to read the letter just loud enough for the three of them to hear,  
  
"To Buffy, Willow, and Cordy: Everyone makes mistakes, right? Will, remember kindergarten, with the yellow crayon? Yeah. I love you guys more than anything, but there comes a time in every man's life when he has to make tough decisions. This is mine. I don't think I'm gonna come back. Buff, I know that you are going to try and come charging out here to save me and drag me back to SunnyD kicking and screaming, but I need to do this! Cordy, I promise I will get your car back to you, I swear. I love you babe, don't cry for me.....Alabama. Ha ha ha, okay not trying to side-track, but this is pretty hard for me to write. This is a though decision for me, you know? But I do think that in the end it is the right one. You guys really don't need me, after all. I don't bring anything to the group. I want to do something important for humanity. Don't worry, I'm not gonna get all Miss American Teen Princess on you and say how 'I want to bring peace to the world and save everyone' and blah, blah, blah! But, it is just me, Xander. I want to help people. Help the helpless, you know? Okay, yeah, so it's really corny, but is just a way of explaining. I am staying at a motel, I don't wanna tell you which, I will eventually. I need my time right now. I love you, wish me luck!  
  
Love to all (even Giles and Angel), Xander xoxo"  
  
Buffy sighed and folded the letter back up and stuffed it into her pocket. She looked up at the other two who both had tears filling in their eyes. Giles-after hearing the sobbing-walked over to investigate.  
  
"Girls! My word, what on earth is the matter?"  
  
"He---" Willow began  
  
"Later Giles. I'll explain later." Buffy sniffled.  
  
TBC. 


	5. Nothing More Than Feelings

Chapter 5: Nothing More Than Feelings  
  
"I don't know what to do! Maybe I should have just gone back with Angel." Xander said to himself as he lay on the stiff matress of the Lazy Sleep Motel. He had spend that last hour and a half staring into the deeply cracked celing and trying to not think about how much he missed Cordelia and her fashion rants or patrolling with Buffy or researching with Willow. Xander closed his eyes and sighed,  
  
"Well atleast I got a room. A nice, comfortable, safe-" suddenly a low creak could be heard form above him. He looked harder as the noise grew louder and the celing seemed to lurch downward. Then, Xander found him self drenched in water-a pipe had split and broken right above him!  
  
"Great..great..isn't that just my luck?!"  
  
***  
  
Willow and Buffy sat on the Summers' living room couch. Well, more specifically, Buffy sat on the couch and Willow sat below her on the floor as Buffy proceeded to French braid Willow's hair. The television in the corner of the room lit up the entire room with a silver glow that was projected onto the two girls' faces giving them an eerie, ghost-like appearance.  
  
"Buffy?" Willow asked  
  
"Yeah, Will, what's up?" she responded  
  
"Do you think he's okay? I am really, really worried! What if he gets in over his head and no one is there to help him. I mean it wouldn't be the first time he's done something like that and-"  
  
"Whoa! Willow, Willow! Take a deep breath." The red head looked at the blonde with puppy eyes, "I am sure he's fine." Buffy tied off the braid with a small rubber band, "But I know where you're coming from. I'm worried too. I wish I could talk to him, I kinda feel like this is all my fault, like, I should have been...I don't know, more sensitive of his feelings, or something. Maybe given him a chance to help out more? I'm not sure."  
  
"Buffy, this is NOT your fault. You really were trying to help him. You were just doing your job by trying to keep him safe. It was his decision to leave. Which may not make you feel any better, granted." Willow said sweetly  
  
The blonde nodded and Willow scooted herself up onto the couch and leaned her head on Buffy's shoulder,  
  
"So, what are we watching? I haven't even been paying attention!" Willow admitted, changing the subject.  
  
Buffy furrowed her brow in deep thought, "Uh...Friends, I think. But I'm tired. I'm gonna go to bed, you coming?"  
  
"Not yet. I'm gonna stay up a little while longer. See you in the morning, Buff!"  
  
The Slayer gave her friend a quick hug and made her way upstairs. Willow just sat on the couch watching the glowing monitor for another half hour but as soon as the end credits for the show began to roll, Willow got up and shut off the television, making the entire Summer's household pitch black, she felt around in the darkness and climbed up the staircase and- after brushing her teeth-got into her sleeping bag that lie adjacent to where Buffy slept.  
  
As Willow shut her eyes in an attempt to find sleep, strangely, the phone rang! Since Willow was the only one awake she cautiously walked over to the phone that sat atop Buffy's desk. She reached down and grabbed the cold receiver and brought it to her ear, "H-Hello?" she asked groggily  
  
"Willow? Hey, Will, it's me, Xander!"  
  
"Xander? What? Why are you calling, and at 1:30 in the morning?" she asked  
  
"I-I'm in trouble and I need your help." He began  
  
Willow listened to Xander speak as a large, dark, winged figure crawled through Buffy's open window and inched closer and closer to the red headed teen.  
  
"So, will you help me?" Xander asked meekly on the other line  
  
"Well..how are you in trouble *exactly*? I mean all you told me so far was that there is a demon and hell, we deal with those all the time."  
  
"Okay, okay, I lied. You're right, I'm not in trouble, you are." He said menacingly as his voice went deep and scratchy, then the line went dead.  
  
"Xander? Xander are you there? Xander?"  
  
The dark creature saw its window of opportunity and pounced on top of the teenager, knocking her to the ground and rendering her unconscious. It let out a satisfied growl and then picked Willow up in one of its giant, scaled talons and flew out of the window; into the dark night and no one in the Summers' household was any the ware. 


	6. Hell Hath No Furie

Chapter 6: Hell Hath No Furie.  
  
Willow slowly opened her eyes and rubbed her head, and discovered that she had a large gash across her forehead. She flinched as the tips of her fingers ran across the sore, bloodied flesh.  
  
"Owww!" she whimpered.  
  
Her vision was blurry and she had a major league headache-which she figured was from the blow to the head. Willow attempted to get up and get some water but she then found that her legs were tied together and chained to the wall.  
  
It was only then that she remembered what had happened. Xander. He had called her and was acting really strangely and then hung up on her. She didn't know what was wrong with him! The next thing she remembered was waking up here. But...where was here?  
  
The red head scanned the area as her vision returned. She didn't see anyone around. Yet she could hear voices echoing around the room, the sound waves bouncing off of all the walls and would enter Willow's ears multiple times, which only made her head hurt more. She clamped her hands over her ears to try and muffle the deafening sounds. She almost had it blocked out completely, but suddenly a thunderous roar pierced the makeshift silence. Willow removed her hands from her ears and looked for what had made the noise. It didn't take long, since a humongous black griffin stood before her. It sounded another earsplitting roar as it spread its huge wings to reveal bright, blood red feathers beneath the midnight black ones. It bucked up on to its hind legs and swung its large talons in Willow's direction.  
  
All Willow could do was look on in awe. She had read of these mystical animals but had never once seen one up close. Usually, she would have taken this time to, well, run. But later she would research this animal more thoroughly. Although with the predicament she found herself in she couldn't do either, so she cowered.  
  
"DOWN DEKTOS!!!!" Somebody suddenly shouted.  
  
A tall, dark and handsome man emerged from the darkness. He had black hair, parted to either side of his bright green eyes. He wore a heavy black leather jacket, which was tattered and had maroon splotches on it-which Willow could only hope wasn't blood. As he made his way over to the teen, cowering in her corner, Willow could make out more of his features. He had a caveman-like brow-slightly akin to that of Angel's. He wore all black Chuck Taylor's beneath baggy black jeans. He had scuffed up painted black nails and wore heavy black mascara along with a large chain choker around his neck.  
  
He crouched down so that he was face to face with the red head,  
  
"Hey there." He said menacingly.  
  
"Hi?" Willow replied hesitantly.  
  
"Would you like to get out of those chains?" He asked, in the same cold tone.  
  
"Please, yes." She whimpered.  
  
"Too bad!" He yelled springing to his feet. "I want the boy. When you tell me where he is, then I'll unchain you."  
  
"How should I know!? Xander hasn't said a word to me since he left."  
  
"LIAR! I know he has communicated you. You and the Slayer and her hollow- headed friend." He hissed.  
  
"The note? All he said was that he was in LA and that he was sorry that he'd left in such a hurry. I swear!" She assured with tears of fright behind her eyes. "Why do you need him?" She asked fearfully.  
  
"I need to pursue him, but I cannot find him." He said with his back turned to Willow as he petted Dektos' beak.  
  
"What did he do?"  
  
The man laughed softly, "Do you really think that I would tell you, pitiful mortal? It isn't of your concern. Only of mine and my fellow siblings."  
  
"Siblings?" she asked, trying to milk him for as much information as she could.  
  
"Yes, myself, Tisiphone and Megaera."  
  
It was only then that Willow put the puzzle pieces together and she gasped as the answer came to her. "You're a Furie!"  
  
Again he laughed and waved his hand, rendering the red head unconscious once again. He chanted and teleported Willow back to the Summers' house.  
  
He knew that she would go and tattle on him to the Slayer, but not even a Slayer was a match for The Furies. Even apart from that, he wanted he to tell. The sooner she did that, the sooner they could lead him to the boy and that was exactly what he wanted.  
  
***  
  
Willow awoke to the smell of Jasmine wafting through Buffy's bedroom window. She just lie there caught in her reverie for a minute or two before snapping upright and bolting down the stairs to find Buffy eating a bagel in the kitchen.  
"Mornin' sleepy head!" Buffy chimed.  
"BUFFY! Library..Giles..now!" she said, out of breath.  
  
***  
  
"So, you say that this man's pet griffin came into Buffy's home and took you to his master's lair in the middle of the night?" the watcher inquired.  
  
"Yeah. I know it's strange but I swear that it's true!" Willow assured.  
  
"Man, I wish I had heard something! I know that I could have done something. I mean I'm the Slayer-and your best friend, I should have woken up." Buffy hung her head.  
  
"No, no Buffy! It is best that it happened! Now we know about this guy after Xander." The red head pointed out.  
  
"But back on subject, Willow you say he and his two siblings are after Xander?" Giles asked groggily while taking occasional sips of tea out of his "Kiss the Librarian" mug.  
  
"Does that mean that I'll never get my car back?" Cordy asked.  
  
"Okay.uh, yeah. He said that they-his siblings-were Tisiphone and Megaera." Willow explained, fully awake.  
  
"The Greek Furies?" Giles inquired, all of a sudden much more awake and alert.  
  
"Yup."  
  
Buffy and Cordelia just sat through this looking confused and dazed. But Buffy decided that she should have a part in it so she put in her two cents,  
  
"The Geek what's?"  
  
"Here, all will be explained once I can get my Greek mythology tomes out of the boxes in my office. Willow, Buffy and Cordelia, will you please get onto the Internet and look for any information pertaining to these deities?"  
  
"Of course." Cordelia chirped, in a not so 'chirpy' way. It was a much more 'why did you get me up so early on a Saturday morning' kind of chirp.  
  
As the teens logged onto the 'Net Giles began to rummage through his dilapidated boxes for any book which could be of any use in this situation. He found few and brought them out to the large rectangular table and then went to see what Willow had found.  
  
"How is it going, Willow?" the librarian asked kindly.  
  
"Well, I found all sorts of stuff on Greek gods but only a few things on the Furies, and they all say the same thing, 'They punish criminals but are particularly concerned with matricide. There are three Erinnyes'-another word for the Furies, Tisiphone, Megaera and one other who isn't mentioned, I haven't found anything on him."  
  
"I'd go out on a limb and say that he's our guy." Buffy added.  
  
"Well, yeah." Cordy said.  
  
"Good work. I'll start skimming my texts and see if I can procure any other information about him. In the meanwhile, keep looking and alert me should you find anything which could be relevant." The Watcher professed.  
  
"Cool. But, you know. Some of us need our beauty sleep so..can I go home?" Cordelia pleaded.  
  
Giles sighed; he wasn't in the mood for fighting or arguing so he caved, "Very well. Just be sure that you are back later, or at least that you check in the either Buffy or Willow so that you know what is going on."  
  
"Okay!" she shouted already having her mother's car keys in hand and being half way out the door.  
  
"Well good. Let's get to work, girls." Giles said turning back to the other two, staring blankly at the computer's luminous screen, reading paragraphs upon paragraphs of Greek mythology.  
  
After hours of research they had, in fact discovered a few interesting facts. Once it was 12:00 they had decided to check in with each other and report on what they had found out.  
  
"Well, Willow, what did you and Buffy find?" Giles inquired, rubbing his eyes and quickly cleaning his glasses.  
  
"What didn't we find?" Buffy said, mimicking Xander.  
  
Willow just rolled her eyes and took out the yellow legal pad on which they had been writing down facts. "Okay! Well, they pursue wrong doers relentlessly, until death, often driving them to suicide and they were created from the blood of Uranus when he..was castrated."  
  
Giles cringed and crossed his legs.  
  
Buffy, then, took over. "Uranus is the sky god and first ruler. He is the son of Gaea-the Earth goddess, who created him without help, i.e. sex. He then became the husband of Gaea and together they had many offspring, including twelve of the Titans. Man they were busy little beavers, huh?" She giggled but still went on, "His rule ended when Cronus, encouraged by Gaea, castrated him. He either died from the wound or withdrew from earth."  
  
Giles nodded, not uncrossing his legs, "Very good, girls! I, myself, found out a few very interesting facts. For instance, Cronus was the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating his Father Uranus. But, you have already covered the castration issue so, I don't think we need to go over that again." He said clearing his throat a little uncomfortably. "Yes, well..um..did either of you find any other information on the third Furie?"  
  
"Nope. Well, kind of. Tell him, Willow." Buffy said pushing the red head a little.  
  
Again, Willow rolled her eyes but began to read off more of their notes, "There was slight mention of a feud between the Gods and the Lower Powers- like the Fates, the Furies, et cetera-about one of the Lower Powers using his or her powers for evil instead of good. So this Being was then robbed of their powers and was then erased from all texts. It was then said that only the blood of a mortal with a true heart could then restore the Beings powers. But at the time, the gods figured that such a person would never exist so they completely forgot about the Being after awhile. This made us think, what if the Lower Power mentioned here is the third Furie? Because he is mentioned but never by name, only as 'the third Furie.' I know it is far fetched, since we're talking about Xander, but what if this guy is after Xander's blood?"  
  
Giles looked surprised, "Very good, Willow!"  
  
Buffy cleared her throat.  
  
"And Buffy. I think that we should look into this." The Librarian paused for a minute and then scrambled to put his glasses back and began to flip through one of his books.  
  
"Ah..ah! Here! The third Furie! Alecto!"  
  
"How can he be in there if he was erased from all sources?" Buffy inquired.  
  
"This is a copy that my friend gave me as a birthday present a few years ago which was made QUITE a long time ago. It must be so old that the gods couldn't have changed it before it was taken out of Greece." He explained distantly as he continued to read the text.  
  
"What does it say, Giles?" Willow asked curiously.  
  
"It says that, uh, Alecto was in charge of the smiting of the individuals who were seen to have been worthy of...well, death. He has a giant black griffin as a pet. It says that it's name is Dektos and it had blood red feathers on the undersides of it's wings, which is actually died with the blood of those the two have smote. But yes, back to Alecto himself, um, one day a mortal complained that Coronus had been cruel to his family so he wanted Alecto to smite him. Alecto said that be could not do that but the man persisted and, seeing that Alecto had such a temper, ended up killing the man and.my God..hanging the man's entrails across the small town, like garland. Once Zeus and Hera found out about Alecto's atrocious deed he and the other God's took away his power. But the other two Furies were not happy about this decision so they vowed to get even with Zeus so since that day they have been searching the world for the one with a true heart so as to get back at the Higher Powers."  
  
"Okay. Well, at least we know more now. I think it is time to see what we can do to stop him though. So lets get on that." Buffy nodded and went to the book cage to look at weapons, which might kill a Furie. If there was a big uber God-thing after one of her best friends, then she was prepared to go to war and she knew that she'd win. Nothing would be able to touch Xander, even with a thirty-foot pole, as long a she was around!  
  
TBC... 


End file.
